Main Question

Is the attitude of Zimbabwean citizens about the trajectory of the country impacted by economic situations?

Expectation

Due to Zimbabwe’s economic situation as a developing country and recent challenges with corruption in the private and political sectors, it is expected that economic factors (variables Q4A and Q6) will have an impact on respondent’s overall view of the country (variable Q3).

Importance

Zimbabwe is a democracy in Southern Africa that has faced political turmoil. The country has presidential elections approaching in July 2023. It is important for both the political party in power as well as opposition parties to monitor public opinion on topics of general interest.

Data Citation

Afrobarometer Data, Zimbabwe, Round 7, 2016/2017, available at http://www.afrobarometer.org.

Data Background

The data used is from Afrobarometer which conducts surveys across the African continent. This research used the Round 7 Afrobarometer survey in Zimbabwe, conducted in 2016 and 2017. The specific variables examined are listed below.

Variables

• Q3: Do you believe the country is going in the right direction overall?
  • binary variable with options of right/wrong direction
• Q4A: Country’s present economic condition
  • factor variable with five levels
• Q6: Country’s economic condition compared to the previous twelve months
  • factor variable with five levels
• URBRUR: Is respondent from a rural or urban area?
  • binary variable with options of rural/urban

These frequency tables show the spread of the data for the primary variables under study.